Rural areas suffer ‘patchy’ mobile signals

HALF OF premises in remote locations across the UK still have “patchy or unreliable” mobile reception, despite wider improvements to mobile coverage across the country.

According to Ofcom’s annual report, reliable voice calls are now available to 97 per cent of premises in urban homes and offices from all operators, while 83 per cent have access to complete 4G coverage.

In contrast, only 41 per cent of premises in rural areas are able to access good quality data, which is defined as a connection speed of at least 2mbit/s.

The regulator is planning to release new airwaves for mobile services to tackle the problem, by auctioning two spectrum bands in late 2019 or early 2020, with binding coverage rules.

“Mobile coverage has improved across the UK this year, but too many people and businesses are still struggling for a signal,” said Philip Marnick, Ofcom’s spectrum group director.

“We’re particularly concerned about mobile reception in rural areas.”